According to a first aspect of the invention the residual fat remover is embodied with opposite pens that are positioned along the path of the passing poultry carcass on opposite sides of the passing poultry carcass so as to detach the residual fat of the fillet or fillets during passing of the poultry carcass. This residual fat is the residual side fat on the sides of the fillets and/or the residual point fat which is located at the back end of the fillets. It is further noted that normally the residual fat remover is positioned stationary along a processing line in which the poultry carcasses are conveyed. It is within the scope of the invention and the appended claims however also possible to apply stationary poultry carcasses and to move the residual fat remover along these poultry carcasses. In that case one can still relate to stationary poultry carcasses as being passing poultry carcasses since the poultry carcasses and the fat remover then still pass each other.
The pens preferably have rounded extremities to prevent them damaging the fillet or fillets while scraping along said fillet or fillets for the removal of the residual side fat.
In order to provide the largest effectivity in the removal of all residual fat it is preferred that the passing poultry carcass is arranged to move past the opposite pens with the poultry carcass passing with its back, where the fillet's point fat is located, being the trailing part of the carcass. It is found that this orientation is most effective in the removal of both the residual side fat and the residual point fat.
Further it is preferred that the opposite pens have sharp edges pointing in a direction opposite to the movement of the poultry carcass. Such sharp edges ensure an uninterrupted progressing of the poultry carcass, in a way that any remaining tissue connections encountered by the pens will then not adversely affect the orientation of the poultry carcass while the carcass moves passed the opposite pens of the residual fat remover. This measure thus also increases the efficiency of the pens.
It has been found beneficial for the effective removal of residual fat, particularly at the trailing back end of the poultry carcass, that the opposite pens are arranged to move towards each other upon the poultry carcass progressing in its movement passed the opposite pens of the residual fat remover. In this way the two movements of the poultry carcass and the opposite pens strengthen each other in their operational efficiency, particularly for removal of the point fat. This can suitably be arranged by making the movement of the opposite pens dependent on and caused by the carrier for the poultry carcass.
The accuracy of the residual fat remover of the invention is further promoted when in operation the poultry carcass moves along guides that are then positioned in the natural position between the carcass and the fillets on the carcass to give way to where the pens of the residual fat remover are intended to be eventually positioned.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Wherever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same parts.